Huskies hope for snow against Central Michigan

DeKALB - Northern Illinois defensive tackle Jack Heflin has a simple wish for the Huskies' 11 a.m. Saturday game at Central Michigan.

"I don't want it to rain, I want it to snow," he said. "I want to play in a snow game so bad. I want it to be like a blizzard out there. That'd be so much fun."

The Chippewas (5-4, 3-2 MAC), boast two running backs each with more than 600 yards rushing in Kobe Lewis and Jonathan Ward.

"He really plays behind his pads," NIU coach Thomas Hammock said about Ward. "He's got good feet, good vision."

The NIU (3-5, 2-3) offense was in full-on rushing mode in the Huskies' 49-0 win over Akron last week.

Hammock was also complimentary of Chippewas receiver Kalil Pimpleton, who has 603 receiving yards and 5 touchdowns with 57 receptions.

"He's not very big, but he can run, he's aggressive, he's competitive," Hammock said. "They do a great job using him in a variety of ways. We have to make sure we have an eye on where he's at all times."

CMU has already scored 252 points through nine games, more than it did all of last season. The Chippewas never scored more than 24 points in a game a season ago and have done so five times this season.

"This game excites me because we're going against a really good O-line, and as a competitor, that's what you want," Heflin said.

Central Michigan coach Jim McElwain said that his team's run defense was something that had been an Achilles' heel.

"Thomas does an outstanding job. They've put a great staff together. You can tell by the way they're playing that they're playing the way he wants them to play. When you look at them, for us, being able to stop the run is going to be critical."

Several projected forecasts for Saturday in Mount Pleasant have the gametime temperature sitting just below 40 degrees, but also have humidity and 10-plus mph winds listed.

Not that adverse weather conditions bothered the Huskies offensively against last week in a 49-0 home win against Akron, as NIU ran the ball 62 times. The type of Midwest weather the Huskies expect to face is none too dissimilar to what the Chippewas trudge through.

"Something that I talked to our staff about when I first took the job, we have to build an offense that can sustain in all weather," Hammock said. "It gets windy in DeKalb. When it gets windy, it may be a quarter you can't throw the ball, you have to run the ball. We have to be good enough that we can dominate up front, change the line of scrimmage."

While the Huskie receivers weren't heavily involved in the passing game against Akron - NIU passed the ball nine times - Cole Tucker had a positive take-away about how he helped fulfill his role.

"It was probably our best game blocking down the field to help spring some runs for the running backs and quarterback," Tucker said. "I think we respond well, just knowing, hey we might not get the ball this game, it's a bad game for us but we've got to help our team win any way they can."

McElwain was an assistant at Michigan State from 2003-05, departing just deforce Huskies defensive coordinator Derrick Jackson came to the Spartans.

"He's (Jackson) really bright and does a great job," McElwain said. "You look at the things that they do defensively and the different looks they give you, the pressures they give you, they give you a lot of problems with good players. It'll be interesting to see this week how the matchup is."

NIU Game Day

<b>Northern Illinois (3-5, 2-2 MAC) at Central Michigan (5-4, 3-2)</b>When: 11 a.m. Saturday at Kelly/Shorts Stadium, Mount Pleasant, Mich.

TV: CBS Sports Network • Radio: WIND 560-AM, WLBK 1380-AM

Series history: 55th meeting (NIU has played the Chippewas more than any other Mid-American Conference team.) CMU leads 29-24-1.

Fast facts: NIU is coming off its first shutout in 93 games following it's 49-0 Homecoming victory over Akron. ... Tailback Tre Harbison coming off a season-high 158 yards on 31 carries. His 724 yards on the season rank fifth in the MAC and 29th nationally. ... Junior Marcus Childers improved his record as the starting quarterback to 14-9 with the win over Akron. Childers ranks in NIU's Top 10 all-time in passing (4,101 yards) and total offense (5,249 yards).

Prediction: NIU 24, CMU 21